In These Troubled Times
by halle-effing-lujah
Summary: With the Justice League's numbers dwindling greatly, it seems as if the world no longer needs it heroes. With the villains using their newfound freedom to cause terror, it's going to take a new team to stop this. And should they follow in their mentor's footsteps all depends on if they survive. (SYOC Closed)
1. S1, EP0, Prologue

_0200 PST+ **/ /** The Watchtower_

* * *

 _ **"This used to be a place of comradery to most,"**_ Doctor Fate spoke with Oliver, overlooking the sparsely populated Watchtower floor. _**"Do you not prefer the busyness as I do?"**_

"Not as much as I used to," replied Oliver, somewhat bothered by the emptiness of the station. "I can hear a hairpin drop from all the way up here."

It was true. The Watchtower wasn't quite as active as it once was. There were the rare occasions in which a few would come to clean the growing dust and rust, but it was Brother Eye who truly remained active within the station, functioning on its own rather than have assistance. Many had already decided to retire semi-permanently from any and all Justice League-affiliated activities. Although, some were coerced to leave retire rather than make a decision on their own behalf. With only a limited number of members left, it was becoming a growing concern on everybody's radar, _especially_ with the increase of brazen moves by both governments _and_ ARGUS.

From Oliver's perspective, it seemed as if the Suicide Squad was getting more public support rather than the Justice League.

That _**wasn't**_ a good thing.

 ** _"Have you spoken with what remains of the team yet, Oliver? I heard more of our youngest have decided to join the rest of civilian life,"_** said Doctor Fate, hands placed flat against the table.

Oliver could only nod, a tad bit disappointed by the lack of communication between him and Artemis beginning to bother him.

"I've only spoken to a few of them. Haven't exactly heard much, to be honest," admitted Oliver. "I don't exactly have time to look for another protege, Kent. I have a business to run and a feisty toddler to watch. I think it's safe to say that the Green Arrow might be retiring one day or another."

 _ **"A bold choice for someone with such limited options,"**_ Doctor Fate acknowledged. **_"You and I both know it will be hard to keep our enemies in their place. Using empty-minded killers to do our job will cost those in charge greatly. A blade to the throat and a bullet in a back is what they will receive for such stupidity."_**

With a short groan, Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, nodding absent-mindedly once again.

"I'm doing the best I can to solve lingering issues, Kent. With only the two of us doing this, it _isn't_ going to be easy bringing another team together," the archer argued, motioning with gloved hands. "Artemis wants nothing to do with us anymore. She's **gone** , Kent. The others are gone. The only ones left are the Titans and the Birds of Prey. Hell, we may have Harleen and Selina with us now, but it barely makes any change. We're short in numbers, Kent."

A flicker of light emanated from the palm of Doctor Fate's hands, only to fade into air at the sound of a faint click.

 _ **"Do you think of me as one who ignores this? I fear only for the lives of the children we have to bring into our fight. Wallace's death has proven that we are all mortal; we are not gods,"**_ said Fate, head leaning against the back of his seat. _ **"Should you find someone suitable for your method of training, you do as we have discussed, Oliver. Whether or not they are as skilled as your former protege does not matter. Artemis has left us; I truly doubt she will ever return to us."**_

Both had to face the obvious fact: most from the old team weren't going to return. After Wally's death, things seemed to slowly fall apart, leading to an inevitable dissolving of the entirety of the team. It was painful having to watch as everyone went their separate ways, preferring civilian life over one of secrecy. Then again, without a team to do what the Justice League _couldn't_ was becoming a problem, one that needed to truly be addressed with both discretion and aggression.

With the Injustice League in play, the world wasn't going to last. Not without something to counteract the spreading "virus."

And with Lex Luthor as a candidate for the presidency, it was going to get _worse._

"I can at least try to convince Bruce and the others to come back for once. But Dinah is going to outright refuse for sure," Oliver said. "They're only going to be mentors this time, Kent. This doesn't mean we're all back on active duty."

 _ **"Agreed,"**_ Fate spoke, a subtle grin hidden behind his helmet. _**"And what of you? Your son is going to need a father."**_

"I _know_ , Kent," mumbled the archer, rubbing at his forehead. "Let's just hope I live to see my son's next birthday."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _In all honesty, I thought I'd never work on a Young Justice SYOC in my lifetime. After discovering that the show was going to come back for a 3rd season, I said to myself:_

 _"Hey, why not at least write something to do with the show?"_

 _And then this story came along. I was working on it during a lab at my school, and it has been sitting in Word for a few weeks or so._

 _The story itself takes place in 2019. Most of the core Justice League members (and those who are part-time/minor members) have left due to growing scrutiny from the public eye. Most of the original team have decided to leave as well, leaving people such as Kaldur to at least try to fix things._

 _In other words: things are not going well for anybody at all._

 _As you already know from this short introduction, Doctor Fate and Green Arrow are trying to assemble a newer team. With Harley Quinn and Catwoman as "temporary" allies to what remains of the league, there are going to be some definite changes in policy when it comes to chosen proteges and mentoring._

 _With every SYOC comes rules, right? Rules are rules, and they **are** meant to be followed. _

**1]** Mary Sues/Gary Stu original characters are not allowed. Should one show up in my inbox, it is more than likely that I'll respond with quite a list of why I won't accept them. Harassment after this will get you barred from messaging me an/or reviewing the story. If you're calm about it, then it will be good to have you along for this endeavor.

 **2]** Diversity. One can easily be a amputee (regardless of leg or arm) and still fight with a prosthetic. Even those who are deaf (partially or fully) can be of great use to an entire team. I don't just want atypical caucasian OCs, either. This world (and the expansive world of DC) has more people of color than you can imagine, and everybody, regardless of skin color or background, is different.

 **3]** This isn't a first come, first serve SYOC. I'm looking for detail. Tragic backstories may be a bit cliche, but if they're detailed enough to a point where I can compare it to Sin City (bloody good graphic novel, by the way), I'll more than likely accept said OC. Humble beginnings are good, too.

 **4]** Title your submission: INTT: (insert character name, codename, and age). It helps me organize between submissions and normal messages.

 **5]** If you've read the rules, put the name of your favorite comic character at the end of your submission.

 _I am well-aware that I might have to skip a few classes just to sort through submissions this week. My inbox is always open; should you have any questions, just talk to me, and we can get things sorted out._

 _You can find the submission form on my profile._


	2. S1, EP1, Moving Day, Part I

_July 3rd, 2019; 0300 EDT / / **Undisclosed Facility**_

* * *

Doctor Jakob Wójcik, a former assistant to the deranged Hugo Strange, had managed to break even the most adamant of people at points— Talon knew this. The supposed 'miracle doctor' was supposed to greet death via a blade to the throat, as Talon had recalled. This never transpired; thanks to the incoherent imbecility of a certain cellmate, the assassin found himself hanging by his feet, what little blood he had left dripping down to his brain.

Like the facility he found himself trapped in, the room was as equipollently as unpleasant. Both flooring and walls were an opaque white, the smell of fresh bleach lingering throughout the stagnant air. The beds were nothing more than hardened cots, and the smell of sedatives leaked ever so slowly into the room, an 'insurance policy', as Wójcik had dubbed it.

When it came to the musty, darkened environment Talon had grown used to, he preferred his former home rather than a vapid, achromic prison.

He had been tortured before; rusted fragments of knives remained deep in his flesh, veins seared, _deadened_ by poisons. Talon knew the twisted Doctor's atypical procedure with expendables; one would be stripped of flesh and bone, organs ultimately stored away for further use.

With Talon, however, they would keep him. He knew in his heart they would.

With refined electrum waiting to seep from his molars, he was more valuable alive rather than placed in the morgue.

"Do you truly have a face under that cowl?"

The question from Talon's cellmate— Vanguard, as he could recall from his memory—was one that he detested to answer. Most assassins would **die** before allowing another to gaze upon their face. Unlike the others, Talon barely had a chance to allow the hemlock to touch his tongue before being captured.

 _"A face is a face. You can continue to wish that there is one under here",_ Talon signed. " _Do you truly have gills beneath your shirt?"_

Vanguard chuckled softly, webbed hands splayed across his bedsheets.

"I'm not sure you would want to get into a conversation about torso gills," replied Vanguard. "But I asked about you, not me. I want to know if a supposed heartless assassin has a face."

 _"A Talon casts away all that's left of their identity after the rite. No identity survives the rite",_ signed Talon, tugging slightly at the cloth wrapped around his head. " _I do have a face. It belonged to another; **he** is gone."_

"You consider yourself a mere husk, then?" Vanguard queried.

 _"Maybe. Maybe not. The ones who came before are only husks. My predecessor was a husk."_ Talon motioned. " _What of your predecessor? Is he too nothing but a husk?"_

"Kaldur'ahm is no husk. He is all **but** that," the Atlantean argued. "He is the greatest mentor any one could ask for. He is a hero, a legend among people. He is—"

"— _He is nothing to me. I am human, he is... something else."_

"He may be nothing to you, but he's like a father to me," sighed Vanguard, glancing out the open panel.

 _"Intriguing. But, he hasn't come for you yet, has he?"_

"No, not yet. He will, though," Vanguard spoke, doubt lingering within himself. "I've lasted this long; it won't be long before somebody aids us in escaping."

Vanguard could only hope to see the sunlight once again, to feel water against his skin. While Talon's nerves were damaged virtually beyond repair, Vanguard's body ached greatly, as if his parched gills and bones were set ablaze with pain.

"Are you going to kill the doctor?" Vanguard couldn't help but to ask.

For a brief moment, there was only silence save for the slight hum of the room's ventilator.

 _"I have to_ ," signed Talon. " _The Court of Owls has sentenced him to_ _ **die**_ _."_

* * *

 _3 Days Earlier; June 30th, 2019; 0730 EDT / /_ _ **Happy Harbor**_ _, Rhode Island_

* * *

Rhode Island, as Proteus had discovered, wasn't the same as the warm, pine-surrounded Cedar Bay area he was habituated to. The east coast was vastly different; closer to home, as his mother would've told him.

The air felt different against his gills, salt mixing with the beading sweat on his skin. Proteus could barely contain his excitement knowing he'd be close to the ocean, to _home._ As much as he wanted to strip of his clothes and dive off the pier, he had more important things to do, but the thought never left his mind.

He began to wonder if anybody had already arrived. What if the forty-six hour drive was all for nothing? What if this was all a scam? Proteus knew Kaldur wouldn't lie to him outright; as long as he knew him for, Kaldur wasn't a very good liar. And as he walked through the narrow hallways if the compound, Proteus took only a few deep breaths of the filtered air, gills flaring with anxiety.

The flooring: a white, opaque linoleum; the smell of fresh wax superseding the salt that had filled Proteus's nostrils. He could see nothing but darkness at the very end of the hall, but his ears focused only on the faint, almost non-existent voices that sounded from inside the compound.

 ** _"Recognized—new member: Adler, Proteus Doran; C01."_**

Proteus jumped at sudden activation of the automated voice, senses further rattled as the door unlocked.

 _"Socialize, Proteus. There's absolutely nothing to worry about,"_ Kaldur's voice echoed within his head. _"You'll be fine. After tomorrow, you can come to me; I'll allow your brother to take your place."_

 _Another horrible, **cruel** lie,_ Proteus thought.

At the very end, all he could see was a door, the booming bass of speakers rattling the walls around him. As he reached for the doorknob, a single arrow penetrated the wood, merely inches away from his nose.

Albeit he would never admit it personally, Proteus allowed a string of muffled profanities to escape his mouth.

Opening the door, the floor beneath Proteus's feet transformed from linoleum to carpeting, most of which had already been stained by food and spilled soda.

If Proteus remembered correctly, the first few teammates he would meet were in his age range, but not all, as he had been told, were human.

The sofa was occupied by only one— a tall, rather heavily tattooed young man. Knees poked through ripped denim, and the laces of his boots were sloppily tied, the fabric of his shirt stretched and warped beyond repair. Behind fallen strands of black hair, half-lidded, somnolent eyes carefully watched Proteus, locked on to even the slightest move he made.

Across from him, the 'culprit' behind the launched arrow sat upside down in the ottoman. A woven shirt was tucked haphazardly into pants, his shoes just recently cleaned. A single archery gauntlet stood out from his attire, folded arrows placed against the ochre leather.

"Another one? I guess it's a full house today," said the archer, brown hair drenched with sweat. "Don't think I quite caught your name."

"I never told you my name," replied Proteus. "I don't think it's wise to give up a name before receiving someone else's first."

While the boy on the ottoman laughed at the remark, the other didn't, preferring to keep silent.

"Jackson Weaver," the archer said, allowing his bow to fall at his side. "And you are—?"

"Proteus. Proteus Adler," replied Proteus. "And you? The tattooed man?"

" _Oof_. Wouldn't call him that, Pro. Chris already got into trouble with him over it," Jackson admonished, getting up from his seat. "He's Raja; he came from Hyderabad at one point in time, but they brought him in from Star City."

 _"'Awhu, 'aetani aistirahat, jaki,"_ Raja tiredly groaned, turning to face away from Jackson. " _Min ajl allaena_ , will you let me sleep?"

 _"Ich vermute, ein schlechter Flug kann jemanden mürrisch machen,"_ Jackson snickered. "Don't mind Raja. He's a bit tired all due to the trip here. Jet lag is worse than a brain freeze on grape ape and steroids."

"And a heavy amount of airplane aspirin is worse," replied Raja, arms pressed against his chest. "At least _**I** _wasn't the one caught in the plane bathroom with my dick in my hand. Have you even _**washed** _your hands?"

Jackson nearly choked on his own spit, ears flushed with complete embarrassment.

Proteus, whilst fighting the internal urge to release his laughter, reiterated the two names in his mind, not wanting to forget them at a later time. He could only wonder where everybody else could possibly be, wondering if they had decided to nap after a long day.

"So, where are you from, Proteus?" inquired Jackson, eyeing the other's obvious gills. "Atlantis, right?"

"Tethys, actually. It's one of the smaller city-states within Atlantis," he replied. "I was raised on the surface; Cedar Bay, Oregon. I only went back to Tethys recently for training with my mentor."

"Interesting, interesting," Jackson nodded, toying with the silk string of his bow. "So, what's it like breathing water? Is it like breathing air? Is it hard?"

Proteus shook his head, webbed hands placed on his lap.

"It's... complicated," was all he could say. "Maybe it's best if we _not_ get into Atlantean anatomy? I mean—what about you? Where are you from?"

The archer sat up in his seat, knees pulled up to his chest.

"Central City. Defintely far from Tethys or... Cedar Bay," said Jackson. "I'm only here until school starts again. I doubt I'll be able to stay here as a resident."

"Ditto," Raja groaned. "Then again, it would be nice to have a room to myself. Soundproof, too, so I can sleep."

A launched arrow hit Raja's pillow, narrowly missing the young man's ear. He jumped, heart racing as he reached to feel for a cut or scrape. Exhaling shakily, Raja's attention turned to a snickering Jackson, fists beginning to ball as the laughing persisted.

Of course, Jackson wasn't trying to kill him. He knew all too well what would've happened had he decided to aim for the head.

Despite the near-death situation that had played out before his eyes, Proteus did his best to contain his giggling, not wanting to side early with an aqquiantance.

" _ **Mawzir**_ ," Raja hissed, seething with anger. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Ah, no. I'm not. It was just a joke, dude," Jackson scoffed. "Not saying it was payback for the dick joke, but yeah, it kinda was."

"I don't mean to interrupt," Proteus spoke up, voice unwavering. "But I think they invented locked doors for that very... reason."

"The door was—" Jackson paused, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. "—Oh. Right. The flight attendant had keys."

A sense of awkwardness filled the room. Jackson coughed uncomfortably, watching as Raja stormed off toward the dorms, boots scraping against the floor. Proteus pulled at the collar of his shirt, clearing his throat.

"So, were you—"

"Don't ask," mumbled Jackson.

"My mother always told me it's completely natural for—"

"Proteus. **No**. _Please_."

"I was told human hormones are stronger than an atlantean's—"

"Jesus Christmas, Pro. Can we just stop talking about _**dicks**_?"

"Sorry. I tend to ramble about my mother's teachings," Proteus apologized. "I don't think it would've been a pleasant conversation had I told you about atlantean mating ritu—"

"Is that smoke I smell? It is? Holy **shit** , it is!" Jackson hopped up from his seat, clothes uncomfortably tight. "Might as well go and find a fire extinguisher!"

"Let me come with you. I'm sure we'll find one, right?" Proteus offered help, following after his acquaintance.

"Just no more talking my ear off about hormones and whatever you were about to—"

"What? Mating ri—"

" _ **Proteus!**_ "

 **/ /**

Cooking **wasn't** a good idea, _especially_ if said cook had absolutely no idea of human ingredients.

Karras was of Tamaran. The planet itself was far different from Earth, especially when it came to— well, to be thoroughly precise: _**everything**_. And as Karras held the scalding, third-degree burn inducing sheet in his hands, he could only dream of having Glurk scales or Glorg, both of which he dearly missed.

"Do you _really_ have to cook in nothing but your underwear?" Christopher, an acquaintance to Karras, asked as he cleaned the burnt dishes. "I'm all for public 'freedom' and everything, but what if there's an oil spill? You'll end up burnt before you can blink!"

"Tamaran is home to boiling tar pits, much like the ones here on Earth. Many of us will lose some skin all due to a bit of exposure," said Karras, feet barely touching the ground. "My _Knorfka_ kept me away from the pits. She was burnt on quite a number of ill-starred occasions."

" _Knorfka_?" Chris parroted, confounded by the sudden use of alien language.

"On this planet, it roughly translates to 'guardian' or 'babysitter'. The first two _Knorfkas_ I had were definite _zarbnarfs_ ," said Karras, only to pause upon seeing a phone in Chris's hand. "And may I ask who you're writing to?"

Chris's thumb raced across the screen of his smartphone, repeatedly pressing down on the digital keyboard.

"Texting a friend," Chris answered, sending a rather long-winded message. "Nothing serious, to be honest. They're just a friend."

 _ **Just** _a friend? Not only was Chris lying to an acquaintance— someone he was _hoping_ to befriend— but he was lying to himself. He wasn't somebody with a 'desired' look, but more average than handsome on the scale. As someone who preferred to wear simple, floral-printed tees accompanied by an _exorbitant_ amount of pastel vans (with 'pastel' applying to half of his wardrobe), he seemed 'strange', as some would put it, to most people. Who would possibly decide to message him back?

Ah, yes. Out of all people, it was the illusive and anonymous _Bada_Dost_ of Happy Harbor.

Maybe it was a bad idea swiping left, Chris thought.

Karras, on the other hand, was still unsure about how people on Earth handled relationships. Most Tamaraneans his age were often espoused off to a member of their caste (not to mention expected to have a great deal of children), or somebody entirely worse than the last suitor. Karras remembered when he was supposed to wed a Czarnian after his service to the military, but thankfully, **_that_ **never occurred.

Czarnians went extinct a year after his departure from Tamaran.

"Why does it smell like burnt fur in here?" Demetra, the first to arrive at Mount Justice, asked as she groggily entered the kitchen. "I know I asked for ideas on new candle scents, but _this_ is pushing it."

"Candle scents? This smells like bad Sashimi," whispered Takohachi, following closely behind Demetra. "Like something **died**."

"Two souls died today," jested Chris, setting aside the singed cutlery. "Along with the brownies."

"I'm sure we can make some more tomorrow— _**with** _help, of course," Karras corrected himself. "What was the thing that artist said over the radio machine? Something about making 'syrup sandwiches'?"

"Ah, _no_. That's from a song, Karras," Chris spoke. "We can just order a pizza for tonight."

In complete honesty, nobody in the kitchen expected to get along with each other so well. Despite a substantial of the group being metahuman (save for Karras, who, himself, was alien), it seemed as if all was tranquil among the teens. Conflicted views and differences arose, of course, but it didn't hinder any endeavors to fit in with others.

"How long is this smell supposed to linger?" Demetra inquired, trying her best to ignore the growing stench.

Takohachi sank deeper in her seat, tugging at her hoodie. "I have sore eyes. Sensitive. _Very sensitive_. Even a bad smell makes it worse," she murmured. "And I _don't_ sleep very well."

"I'm sure we can all adjust to it," said Demetra, tucking a few strands of red hair behind her ears. "I'm still wondering how most of us are going to change schedules; most of us do have school."

"School?" Karras questioned.

"It's a place where teachers feed you inaccuracies for twelve to thirteen years," Chris elucidated.

"Is it _**forced**_ rehabilitation?" asked Karras, curious. "Prison? _A labor camp?_ "

"Mhm," Chris replied. "All of the above, my good sir."

The room burst into laughter, the snorts and giggles reverberating off the insulated walls. But the crackling of an activating intercom caused the laughter to cease, all listening to the coming announcement.

 _"Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern have requested the audience of the team in the mission room,"_ an accented, automated voice spoke. _"It is advised that all planned activities are put on hold until after the meeting."_

 ** _/ /_**

While John had a child of his own, he new it wouldn't be easy having to be an overseer to a group of teenagers. With experience in the Marine Corps, he was able to ease his nerves only a bit, but John would be more of an advisor rather than a leader.

J'onn, on the other hand, knew better than to let nerves get the better of him. Being a Martian, he was used to watching over others, especially one rambunctious crowd of teenagers; he _was_ a father to seven adolescents, of course. Then again, having two hearts didn't diminish the feeling of anxiety; his own chest rattled with growing anticipation.

That, however, was one thing he would never admit personally to anyone.

And as the group entered the mission room, the overseers concealed all there was to their personal identities, becoming Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter to the teenagers.

"Welcome to the mission room," said Lantern, his ring flickering. "I'm Green Lantern. I'll be your overseer _and_ pre-operations advisor."

"And most of you already know me as Martian Manhunter. But, being referred to as J'onn will do just fine," said the martian, expression unchanging. "I will be the second overseer and instructor. I understand that I will also be this facility's psychologist, but only until somebody arrives to take my place."

"I thought Batman would be here?" inquired Chris, hands stuffed into his pockets.

"He is currently dealing with personal matters," Green Lantern spoke. "All of which require immediate attention and partial... retirement."

"So, no Batman, then?" Proteus questioned.

Both Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter shook their heads, implying that Bruce would not become active for a great amount of time.

"All of you are here due to recognition of your skills; had it not been for your mentors, most of you wouldn't be in control of your abilities and powers— should you have any of course," Manhunter explained. "Most of you will live here in Mount Justice, others won't. Some of you will grow to like the team, those of you who prefer to work alone, however, always have the option of choosing departure rather than **_betrayal_**. I understand that a sudden _coup d'état_ will create a rift in a team; even thinking about it will prompt an unannounced visit from me."

"A _coup d'état_ is unlikely, but we're only here to make sure it doesn't happen. That doesn't mean we're here to restrain or keep you imprisoned; we're overseers, _not_ jail wardens," Green Lantern reiterated. "We're only here to make sure nobody gets hurt."

Raja stumbled into the mission room, eyes partially crusted with sleep.

"And I see we've awoken our friend from his sleep. I thought you had earned enough sleep on your journey here, but I was horribly mistaken," said the martian. "After this, those who need proper lodging may go to Garfield for assignments."

Green Lantern glanced at the other's cape, the martian quickly realizing his short-noticed blunder.

"Ah, _yes_. I was aware you were expecting another addition to your team," said Manhunter. "My protégé, Kennedy, will be a part of this team."

Pulling his cape aside, a young girl peeked out from behind Martian Manhunter, brown eyes focused on the group. She walked out into the light, rubbing her eyes as her eyes slowly began to adjust.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Kennedy spoke, adjusting the flannel tied to her waist. "Not related to J'onn at all; I'm only a close friend of his niece's."

Most of the group was confused; they expected to meet a martian protégé, not exactly one that was... _human._ Then again, there was always the case of—

"I'm not all human, either," whispered Kennedy, a flicker of matte red appearing in her eyes. "I do have to have a disguise if I want to keep people like Lex Luthor off my case—the whole 'anti-alien immigration act' is something i'd like to avoid."

She fidgeted with her black, curly hair, wondering when the awkward silence would end.

"Did I say something wrong?" Kennedy asked, glancing back at her mentor.

 ** _"You'll just have to socialize with them,"_** Martian Manhunter spoke telepathically. _**"You'll know them well soon enough. I sense there's a few here who will warm up to your fairly quick."**_

While the group of teens whispered among each other, Kennedy gulped, secretly listening to the thoughts of her teammates.

But, even a **_millenia_** -old martian (one _well_ older than J'onn) couldn't decipher strings of mixed, garbled thoughts coming from everybody in the immediate area.

As she delved deeper into the minds of the group, she couldn't help but to at least examine a memory or two (despite the many morals she'd be violating for the 'sake of science'.)

 _Salt. Sand. Burning pine sinking into water._ Proteus's thoughts were at ease; calm, to be fully honest. Images of home- the water-lined shores of Cedar Bay- resurfaced in the teen's head, but the nagging thought of certain failure managed to crawl into his head once again, accompanied by a face— his _brother._

 _Steel scraping against stone. Reddened mud._ A small shred of depression tugged at the heart of Karras— well, _both_ of his hearts. He felt at peace with himself, finding solace in the company of those he was surrounded by. But there was the lingering thought of burnt brownies that haunted Karras; for what reason exactly, Kennedy couldn't figure it out.

 _Needles—pain. The burn of coloured ink against skin._ Frustration constantly boiled within Raja, but a good portion of him remained clear of the anxiety. His younger sister broke his hardened veneer of anger; it was her that could rid Raja of his harsh demeanor. Despite this, Kennedy could sense he wasn't going to open up to everybody.

 _Morning fog. Mist. Earthen tiles soaked by rain._ While Demetra's mind wasn't in shambles, there was still something wrong with her system; she was sick, but she tried her best to keep it hidden. She was— as Kennedy sensed— hiding more than just sickness, and yet a mixed cloud of bitternes and unsure joy blocked the discomfort.

 _Night skies. Blood against teeth. An empty quiver._ Energy burned within Jackson, the eagerness to scale the Star City skyline remaining prevalent in his head. While the physical scars were clear to Kennedy, it was the mental damage Jackson had kept; if the stress wouldn't kill him, a broken back would.

 _Bleached flooring. Sore skin_. Takohachi had seen many things, and not all memories were good memories. She was a quiet one, and preferred darkness over the limelight; a "wallflower", as one would describe her. She wanted to sink back into the dark, fearful of unwanted attention, of name calling and ridicule.

Kennedy, heart hurting by the sudden flood of emotions, calmed Takohachi's mind with a few quick reassuring sayings, watching as the other was able to breath again.

"I think I recall most of your names from the packet," said Kennedy, smiling nervously. "It's good to know I'm not the only off-world-er here, or is it better to say non-surface-dweller? We don't trek the Mars surface during the day _—_ martian-eating animals and sunburn are _**killers**_."

The group snickered, but Raja remained silent, bitterly rolling his eyes.

"There will be another joining your team. At the moment, it's taking longer than we thought for him to be discharged from Gotham Memorial," Green Lantern said, accessing the computer terminal. "Zerrin is his name. He'll be one of the oldest on your team."

With quick fingers, he activated the computer's systems, light clicks and beeps sounding throughout the hall. A small, black screen appeared, shortly colorized and followed by a bruised, bandaged face.

Blonde, almost platinum hair fell in front of Zerrin's eyes, stubble growing across his jaw. The background included a drawn, dust-blue curtain, and the fluid-drained iv cords remained stationary, flecks of blood crusted within the plastic.

Despite the distance between Zerrin and Mount Justice, Kennedy could sense nothing but pain radiating from the other, his mind clouded with uncertainty and frustration.

"Zerrin," said Lantern, leaning against the terminal. "I see our friend Slade was serious when it came to barring trespassers."

 _"It's **nothing** ," _lied Zerrin, shifting uncomfortably in his gurney. _"I can heal from a broken arm and collarbone, even a bit of damaged dignity. I'll live. I can even climb a wall if I wanted to."_

"Broken bones need time to heal; you won't be able to go on missions if they can't heal correctly," Green Lantern warned, stepping aside to allow the others into view. "That gives you plenty of time to meet with your new teammates, but you won't be able to hang from another zip-line for a good week or two, let alone touch another gun."

 _"So, you're isolating me to the infirmary?"_ Zerrin questioned, wiping dried blood from his split lip. _"I **can** handle the pain."_

 _Burning, **boiling**. Scalding pain. Nerves set ablaze. _Kennedy knew Zerrin was lying; he was hurting, but he'd never admit it, even if one were to twist his arm behind his bruised back. The screaming in his thoughts invaded hers, eardrums rattling with each pained shout and gunshot that rang out.

 _ **"Murderer! You know nothing of what you have done!"**_

 _ **"Zerrin... what did you do?"**_

 _ **"Your pay? No. No pay. You shed blood. I asked for no mess and you made one anyway."**_

 _ **"Consider this a goodbye gift for your service!"**_

Blood. So much blood and nothing to wipe it all away. Kennedy could barely delve deeper to see Zerrin's former childhood self; the memories were all blocked by plastered shadows and hardened stone.

She quickly left his mind, hands shaking at her sides, mind nearly numbed by the sensory overload.

"The infirmary is a fairly comfortable facility; with time to heal and possible stem-cell treatment, you'll be up out of bed in a good week or two. Either that or you can stay in Gotham," said Lantern. "Understood?"

 ** _Click._**

The screen deactivated, Zerrin leaving the video-call early.

"Well, that was..." Chris trailed off, thinking of how to describe the encounter. "... _interesting_."

"I wouldn't like being in a _dawa-khana_ either," mumbled Raja, scratching at his scalp. "I rarely had a choice when it came to setting a bone."

"One can only hope he's able to heal," interjected Demetra.

" _If_ he heals," whispered Proteus.

" ** _When_** he heals," Karras replied.

" _ **If**_ he manages to not break another arm," Jackson sighed.

"How? You heard it from Zerrin; he's not planning to stay in bed," warned Chris.

"He _won't_ ; I can already tell," said Kennedy, pulling slightly at the flannel around her waist.

"Sick. He'll get sick if he doesn't," Takohachi murmured. "He needs to sleep— needs to ease the pain."

"He will be fine," Manhunter spoke, sensing the growing tension and anxiety from the teens. "For now, it's best if all of you settle in. Two should be assigned to each room, and mixed gender rooms are fine—as long as each person is comfortable with it, of course. Any such inappropriate gestures _will_ be dealt with."

His small glances turned into a sudden glare, the look cutting through the group of teens before him.

"Smoking is also prohibited," the martian continued. "Including marijuana use."

/ /

The server room of the compound wasn't as grand as any other, but with towers filled with flowing data, it was one to be jealous of. There were stringent rules on whether or not the teens would be sanctioned into the room, the overseers wondering if allowing such activity would lead to the breakage of $4000 worth of equipment.

 _"It is completely impenetrable!"_ the technicians had said. _"Nobody can get in without a code!"_ they said.

Apparently, the technicians thought it wise to put in a second door from the underground, one with only one such keypad.

"So, you did check the alarm on the keypad right?" Jahi asked, smoke pouring out from her nostrils. "I'd hate for a bunch of pre-pubescent teens to ruin the party. Nobody would be going home laughing; they'd all be red-eyed in a minute, Nightshade."

"I _know_ , Jahi, I know," said 'Nightshade', hoodie covering most of her face. "Could you at least stop for one minute? I understand you've been trying to grow this... strand or whatever— actually, what is it called again?"

"I can't decide between 'Wreck' or 'Trainwreck', but I want one to at least relate to 90% of people _my_ age," Jahi said, typing away whilst holding a crudely rolled blunt between her lips. "Jesus, who set up the security here? It's like they want to be hacked, am I right?"

"For _sure_ ," Nightshade sighed, eyes rolling. "But, I'm sure everybody would appreciate it if you didn't hotbox the room."

The room had already been 'modified' by the two, changed to fit a certain _theme_ they knew everybody else would hopefully come to like. Walls were already spray-painted, stencil designs and tags illuminated by the shifting neon. Boxes and collectibles were scattered across the flooring, a plethora of roleplay miniatures and action figures alike placed upon the shelving. The computer monitors were neatly arranged on a curved desk, a larger screen placed on the wall in front of said desk. While most of the room itself was a mess, it was, as very few people would describe it: a 'beautiful' mess.

A beautiful, spray-painted, THC smelling mess.

Jahi rearranged her hair, tying it back into an even messier knot, strands falling in front of her face. If the fumes hadn't made her red-eyed before, the screen of her sticker-laden laptop was.

Nightshade placed an industrial-grade respirator mask onto her face, breathing in cleaner, _filtered_ air. She yawned, continuing to solder wire to wire, continuing to hope nothing would explode in her face. She halted her work, looking for her tools only to find nothing but air in her surrounding area. With a furrowed brow, Nightshade searched for the box, looking beneath tables and chairs for the misplaced items.

" _Shit_ ," Nightshade groaned. "I didn't leave them in the kitchen, did I?"

/ /

Demetra rummaged through the refrigerator, searching for something to settle her cravings for food. She pushed aside labeled containers and wrapped dishes (and an oddly placed toolbox), taking a bar of leftover chocolate from the very back of the fridge. Closing the door, she opened the plastic wrapping, only to stop upon hearing what sounding like scraping in the background.

She looked around, eyes scanning the area for the culprit. It was only Jackson and Kennedy sitting on the sofa, both playing a round of video games on the television.

"Was that you two?" Demetra called over, only to receive looks of confusion from both teens.

"Yeah... no," said Jackson.

"I'm sure it was just a mouse," Kennedy said. "We have plenty of rodents where I come from."

Demetra exhaled, reaching to open her chocolate. Instead, her fingers grazed against scales and talons, a soft rumbling emanating from the large, cat-sized creature, the chocolate bar lodged in its jaws. Golden, slitted eyes stared directly at the young woman, glinting with curiosity. A shaken and shocked Demetra watched as the creature allowed her to take the bar away, head bunting against her hand.

As much as she wanted to reach out and pet it, a scream ripped from Demetra's throat, echoing throughout the halls of the compound.

/ /

Jahi froze, a loud scream rattling her sensitive eardrums. She set her laptop down, putting out the smoldering blunt in an ashtray. All Nightshade could do was groan in agitation, face sinking further into her hoodie.

"Ramiron?" Jahi asked.

"Ramiron," replied Nightshade, sighing as the alarms activated.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note:_**

 _A special thanks to Outcast001 for helping me work on this chapter and story._

 _I'm sorry to everybody for not being more active. I've managed to put my troubles behind me, and I am partially back to being the person I once was months ago._

 _And a quick warning about this story:_

 _Some chapters may include heavy language and sone minor violence, drug use, character death and etcetera. This might warrant a rating change (one in which it could be highly possible), and even advisories at the beginning of some chapters. I've opted to make the story's tone darker in future chapters, and after a long conversation with Outcast001, I think it's a definite green-light on the "nobody is safe" trope._

 _Again: nobody is safe._

 _Thank you to those who submitted their characters. It was hard picking and choosing characters for the story; most submissions I received were just that good, but alas, it came down to only a few choices. I may accept more characters in the future, but it depends on if I have time to add them into the story._

 _So, our protagonists of the story have been introduced! Our antagonists will be seen in the next chapter. And what will come in the future, you might ask?_

 _Cameos._

 _Drama._

 _Trauma._

 _Time travelling._

 _Aliens._

 _Jason Todd._

 _Jason Todd? Yes. Maybe. Possibly. Who knows? You'll have to wait._

 _But, on another note: if you want something to read while you're waiting for INTT to get an update, try **Lionhearted** by Anim8or. It's a good read and something I'd recommend. Fun fact: this isn't a shameless promotion, it's just a suggestion._

 _And what did you guys like about this chapter? Anything you'd like to see in the future? Leave a review, if you would like. It helps me improve my writing._

 _Byt now, it's high time for me to get back to school and such. CompSci will be my inevitable cause of death, apparently._

- _ **Kai**_.


	3. S1, EP2, The Break-In

_June 28th, 2019; 2023 PST / /_ ** _Berkeley_** _, California_

* * *

Berkeley was a lively area, especially for young and aspiring college students who attended the nearby university. The homes were fair, but the dorms were seemingly better; a good chunk of students lived in the exclusive on-campus dorms, of course.

Including a one Jahi Ojeda and her guest: Nightshade.

Atop one dorm, two people sat in weaved lounges, surrounded by plants and cleverly placed half-wall structures, giving the pair plenty of privacy without losing the view the rooftop terrace offered. Tea and snacks were enjoyed as the pair traded words, some barbs and easy retorts, all in good humor and camaraderie.

"Ah, it's good to go out every now and then, Thanks for the invitation. _¿Cuánto costó obtener reservas?_ " Jahi asked, stretching her arms above her head as she relaxed further into the lounge.

"Hm, about..." Her red haired companion held her hand parallel to the ground, moving it in a 'so-so' motion. "nothing, give or take? The night shift only increases its security on the grounds, and the guard watching the camera's for the terrace is out for another hour at least." She grinned, her own omnipresent mask resting on the table between them.

Still, she had taken care to sit at an angle where her face could not be seen from any of the cameras.

Hell, even if she had, Jahi would destroy the footage before the night was out. Her fellow trouble maker was nothing if not thorough.

"What about _¿el cambio de guardia?_ " the Spanish hacker asked. She knew her tall friend had everything under control and was just passing the time... and poking fun at her.

The redhead huffed, slightly annoyed.

"That was one time, Jahi, one time! _Por el amor de Dios_..." She muttered the last bit, but her grin was sharp when she turned back to her friend. "The change won't happen for another hour and a half, the guards are always at least two minutes late to arrival, and I've set up a little surprise that should buy us time and provide enough distraction for an easy get away."

When she finished, the lent back and rested her arms over the back of the lounge, watching as an answering sharp grin grew on Jahi's lips.

"Ha! I almost feel sorry for the _pobres hijos de puta!_ " Jahi laughed, shaking her head, she settled her tall friend with a slightly more serious look, but the mischief glittering in them could not be missed.

"Now that I have you here, _mi amigo_..." The tall redhead sighed, knowing what was coming but eager to take part nonetheless. Mischief making with Jahi was always fun, if not more risky than her usual outings.

Ramiron chose that minute to glide down from his perch to settle on her shoulder, having finished his exploring, to give Jahi an indecipherable look as he waited patiently for the dark haired woman to speak. Jahi did not disappoint.

"How does a little trip to San Francisco sound?"

Human and dragon shared a look, before shooting Jahi with intrigued stares. A year ago, Jahi would have shivered at their eerie silence and the perfect unison in which they moved, but she had long since gotten used to her friend's oddities and now wasn't perturbed by the pair unless they actively tried.

And they only did that when she had managed to piss them off.

"There's a company that's been... negligent in the distribution of their _fondos_. We go there, _causar estragos_ , maybe stop off at a casino or two, _Vive un poco_ , you know? _Luego llevamos nuestros traseros a casa_ and no one is the wiser," she said, grinning from ear to ear, the pair sitting across from her tilted their heads in their usual unison, clearly thinking it over, though everyone sitting there knew that they would agree.

Then, Ramiron lazily curled his tail around his mothers' neck and bared his teeth in the dragon equivalent of a smile, his mother mirroring that smile with one of her own that had too many teeth to be friendly.

"We're in."

/ /

"I _hate_ you."

The redhead cast a sideways (and downward) glare at her friend as they walked into the foyer with the rest of the college internship students. Luckily, there was enough diversity in the large group that they weren't given any odd looks, and there were enough tall people that allowed Nightshade to blend in a little better.

The pair was cast in civilian-wear. While Nightshade wore more fitting, comfortable clothing, Jahi took the riskier route, donning ripped denim and a red flannel shirt. Both wore easy-to-run-in shoes, and both carried 'school bags' like the rest of their group. Ramiron was hiding inside one of the bags, a device that Jahi had invented made it so that he didn't come up on any scanners the building might have wrapped around his neck like a collar.

A fireproof, chew-proof collar.

"For fucks sake, get over it, it's not the first time we've _ido de encubierto_!" Jahi said, quickly switching languages as a guard walked up to them to perform the general security check.

 _"¿Recuerdas cómo fue eso_?" Nightshade shot back, " _Estuviste enfermo por una semana y no pude poner peso en mi tobillo por un mes!_ "

" _No es mi culpa_ that thing exploded right at your feet! And how was I supposed to know the knock out gas would react badly with my cigarillo?" She hissed as the guard moved on. Jahi huffed as her friend rolled her eyes, and she could imagine that Ramiron was doing the same in the bag.

The group was cleared, all allowed to walk around the foyer as their tour guide yammered on about this and that. A bit of information was actually important in regards to their security and the location of some of their hardware.

"The Kuznetsov Corporation is a leading company in prosthetics and high-end technology," said the tour guide. "Not only do we have the capabilities to attach prosthetic limbs to live nerves, but the permanent integration of artificial material into organic tissue isn't far off, either. Test trials will begin as of August 2nd."

As the tour continued, the two ladies shared sly grins; Jahi was positively giddy at the prospect of causing chaos for such a polished, orderly facility.

Then again, she may or may not have been awkwardly locked into a staring contest with the freckle-faced tour guide.

"Rather confident in their security, aren't they?" The redhead commented idly as the group moved on to the elevators.

"Confident? Seems to me these guys are _demasiado arrogante_ ," Jahi said, shifting in impatience as the doors slid shut. "Good thing we're _gonna tómelos abajo una clavija o dos_."

/ /

"And here is the main server room, as you can see we have the best..."

Nightshade zoned out as the words became a little too complicated for her.

Technology was beyond her in most cases, and she could admit that without too much embarrassment, though the look of horror on Jahi's face when she first tried to use the new register that the shorter woman had gifted her was hilarious. Still, the register was now a permanent fixture in the shop and as long as the redhead kept the notes in the drawer whenever she got stuck, she was good.

Nightshade scanned the room, noting doors, possible hiding places, camera's, guards, various routes they could take and the routes of their potential pursuers.

Plenty of clear hallways—so neat _and_ tidy— but they had an exorbitant amount of decorations and furniture, forming many shadows thanks to the lighting. In all, there were plenty of hiding places for her to take advantage of.

"Come on, friend," Nightshade said, grabbing Jahi by the collar. "We have a tour to finish, remember?"

She dragged Jahi along, both ducking into the nearby conference room. The taller woman nearly jumped when she saw the security camera, but one look at the green eyed Spaniard reassured her that either it was offline or showing a pre-recorded loop of footage.

"Any meetings listed in here?" she asked, watching as Jahi pulled out a laptop and a few other odds and ends, wires and boxes with flashing lights.

The stealth expert had no idea what they were or what they were meant to do, but she didn't really care either.

 _Not my division_ , she thought, shrugging off her backpack and putting it gently on the table, Ramiron already halfway out. The taller woman laughed lightly as her little dragon's foot got tangled in the strap, nearly falling off the very edge of the table.

While she helped her little dragon, Jahi worked on hacking into the system. It was multilayered, each layer having a different set of security measures of ranging difficulty and complexity, and it changed at random every ten minutes.

This made getting in from the outside nearly impossible, and even if you did get in you wouldn't exactly have the time to do any real damage; they had various 'stalling' firewalls that you needed a special key card and code to bypass. And even then, you needed different key cards and code combinations for different levels of importance of information, documents, and finances.

However, Jahi could bypass the firewalls if she could get into the central mainframe, and to do that she needed a direct link to the server.

That's where her ninja-like friend came in.

"You ready, Nightshade?" she asked, watching as the taller girl made the finishing touches to her outfit change.

She had added a dark blue hooded vest, her turtle-neck pulled up over her nose, a modified bandolier belt with various pockets wrapped twice around her waist, a small black earpiece secured in her right ear, and black gloves fitted on her hands. Thin enough not to be cumbersome, but thick enough to keep her fingerprints to herself and avoid the worst of any electric shocks.

Ramiron, already a dark coloured reptile, didn't need anything extra besides the device around his neck and the camera-radio headset secured on his head. Jahi couldn't help but think he looked like a steam-punk themed dragon, which made her grin and repress a giggle.

Pulling out a cigarette, Jahi lit it easily as her friend turned to her and gave a silent nod. Jahi tossed a small rectangular device towards the taller woman; it was almost flat, easy to carry and conceal, but it didn't have any lights or markers of any sort. Just a small, black rectangle.

"Once you get into the server room, get to the main database mainframe. There's going to be a larger server tower. Lots of lights and shit. Looks like something from Tron." Jahi waited a moment, and when her friend nodded in understanding, she gave a sigh. Smoke billowed around her face, obscuring her vision for a moment.

"Okay, once you're there you need to find a panel, it'll probably have a lid or something covering it, it'll have a lot of buttons, switches, wiring and lights. Basically a _clusterfuck_ of shit you hate."

"I do hate wiring," the redhead agreed cheekily, grin obvious even through the makeshift mask.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, there should be a space near the bottom, just place that," she pointed to the device in Nightshade's hand. "On there, it's magnetic so you should have no problem. _¿Tienes todo eso?_ "

" _Sí, sí_. I got it," The redhead rolled her eyes, and this time Jahi could see Ramiron copy his mother. Still, she pocketed the device carefully and gave a merry two fingered salute.

"See you on the other side! Try not to blow anything up!" Jahi warned.

Nightshade slipped out the door, the sound of the dark haired Spaniard cursing up a storm following her out.

 _"Alright, perra, you know how to get to the server room?"_ Jahi's voice came from the earpiece a few minutes later, the effects of her cigarette having kicked in. Though, considering the curse, she still wasn't exactly happy about the jab from the exploding-security-panel debacle.

"Already at the door," Nightshade replied quietly, giving a 'you're up' look to Ramiron.

The little reptile chirped happily and slid from his mothers' shoulders, taking to the ventilation system to get to the other side of the door. A few seconds later there was a 'zap' and the door slid open, smoke trailing up from the wires under the access panel.

 _"Malfunction alert suppressed; they still don't know you're there,"_ Jahi said, knowing the information would help her friend stay focused. The girl could be a bit paranoid, but that came with the job.

Moving through the hallway silently, the young stealth expert ducked into shadowed corners and behind anything and everything to avoid the patrols. Once she reached the server room proper, the redhead was very tempted to curse. The only thing that kept her from doing so was that she was sure the sound would echo and potentially alert someone of her presence, thus possibly ruining any chance of a successful operation.

That and it would be extremely unprofessional.

Finding the database server thing was easy. Getting there, on the other hand, was not. The room was the size of a warehouse, and it was a literal maze of wires, giant computers, processors and heaven knows what else. There were dead ends, patrols both on the ground and on the upper level viewing-window, making it impossible to just climb up and run across the top of them. Plus it would undoubtedly piss Jahi off that she treated such high-tech so callou—

—on second thought, maybe she should do it, as payback for making her go into this mission without her usual attire.

Another glance at the viewing window made her tamp down on that impulse, as there was another group of students staring wide-eyed at the huge room.

Soon enough, though, she reached her target. It really did look like something right out of Tron— glowing wires, stacks of cooling server towers and terminals—but she didn't take the time to admire it, their window of opportunity was closing fast.

Another few minutes and Jahi would be kicked out of the system and the various alerts would blare as the cameras fix themselves and they would be caught. She would be without her usual attire and utensils and Jahi would be essentially a sitting duck.

Ugh, she **_really_ **hated these kinds of jobs.

The panel was easy enough to find, and easy enough to remove thanks to Ramiron's strong, albeit small claws. The noise made her wince, but after a moment of an alarm-free silence, the teen pulled out the device and placed it at the bottom, like instructed, and the magnets allowed it to stick like a stubborn burr to the metal.

"Device secured," she said quietly, careful to ensure her voice didn't echo in the expansive room.

" _Connection secured, initiating break-in,"_ said Jahi. _"You are clear to vacate. Consigue tu culo aquí, Nightshade."_

"Copy that. On my way."

Ramiron returned to her shoulder, and she backed tracked carefully. Minutes later, she was back in the conference room, the space already thick with THC, a haze of smoke beginning to form. The green-eyed hacker was bent over her laptop, a Cheshire grin stretched over her face as her fingers blurred over the keyboard.

"Judging by the glint in your eye, there's some fun things besides financial fraud?" The young redhead asked, glancing down the halls before closing the door before joining her friend at the table while Ramiron slid off to take revenge on the backpack.

" _Querido Dios, sí._ Funneling money into offshore accounts, which are linked to criminals and illegal operations? That's one of the nicer files. Sabotaging the stock market, producing and selling illicit substances. I'm not talking about your _cada día_ kind of shit, this is like _give-you-super-powers-or-horribly-mutate-and-or-kill-you_ substances.

"Seriously, even the fucking **Joker** wouldn't touch this shit. Then we got the more political fuck-upery, not only here in good ol' USA, knew those polls were _totalmente falso_ , but also in like fifteen other countries and not to ment— _dulce madre de María Jesús_ ," Jahi breathed in horror, staring at the damning file as her stomach churned.

"What?" The voice of her friend made her jump, dropping her used cigarette into her lap. Before it could burn her, though, Ramiron jumped into her lap and snatched the bud up before dashing back under the table. There was a small whoosh, a large puff of smoke billowing from under the table.

The redhead sent a warning look to the shorter woman, "If he gets high, I **will** put laxatives into your herbal tea mix, so help me god."

Jahi gave a nervous smile, glad that they at least tried to lighten the mood. " _Gracias mi amigo_ , but I'm afraid that it's much too serious for a bout of _humor ligero_." She gestured to the screen. The taller woman leaned to the side slightly to see the screen properly.

Jahi watched as the blood slowly drained out of Nightshade's face, and Jahi couldn't help but wince. She knew the tall woman had family, siblings, and that must make what she read even worse.

"Slave trade for militant countries, kidnappings, black-market organ and bone harvesting, illegal testing on snatched kids with metahuman genetics..." Nightshade all but collapsed against the back of a chair. "Kuznetsov managed all of this behind our backs."

" _Diablos si lo sé,_ but by the time we're done we'll have done more than raised suspicion," Jahi growled, lighting another cigarette. "We'll have raised hell."

Nightshade snarled in agreement. Ramiron climbed onto his mother's shoulders, his own small growl rumbling through the air in response to the growing aggression, his eyes scanning the room to try and find what had upset her.

Within a minute, Jahi had the entire confidential files on a hard-drive. At her friends confused look, she held up the hard-drive and gestured to her laptop.

"The entire building is on a closed network, and it doesn't allow connections to any other networks. I could bypass it, but that would take time that we don't have." she said, before handing her tall friend the hard-drive, packing up her gear with a speed borne of familiarity and repetition of the act.

An alarm began to blare through the room, red lights flashing- the sounds of panic and heavy boots sounding on the other side of the door.

"Oh, _hijo de una puta protestante!_ " Jahi cursed, "I fucking forgot to retract my signature from the goddamn system! _Hijo de puta!_ " She cursed, rushing back to her laptop. "Hang on! I can scramble their system- remove all trace of us from the system and their memory storage!"

"Well, make it quick!" Nightshade hissed, pulling her turtle neck up again and flipping her hood over her head. "'Cause we're about to have company."

" _Claro!_ Let's get the _**fuck**_ out of here!" No sooner had she said that, the door burst open with three men, weapons drawn and at the ready.

What they weren't ready for was a tiny dragon belching thick black smoke at them, heated embers flying into the eyes of bewildered guards. While they coughed and hacked, Nightshade dove into the cloud and knocked out two, the third was jump-tackled by Ramiron, and he subsequently fell and hit his head on the door. With a quick vitals check, Nightshade sighed, knowing full well they'd live (but with a rather nasty headache upon waking up).

"As you said," Nightshade spoke, holding the door open for Jahi. "Let's get the _fuck_ out of here."

They managed to go down two floors before they met any resistance, but the guards were taken down with a few well-aimed pellets. The pair continued to run, dodging security and office workers all the same.

"Hang on!" Nightshade suddenly stopped, causing the Spanish lady to run straight into her back.

The shorter woman landed harshly on her backside, but before she could do more than glare up at her friend, said friend turned to look down at her, confusion clear in her eyes.

"How was the system alerted to your lingering signal or whatever, if you were still in the system?" questioned Nightshade.

Jahi opened her mouth to curse out her friend whilst simultaneously explaining the basics of how the system could have detected her-

And then promptly closed it with a snap, because she was right, she had still been in the system and there was no way for the system to be alerted of her presence, so how had they figured they'd been hacked?

"They didn't know I was in the system, there was no way they could have possibly known. _A no ser que_..." she trailed off, head bowed as she thought.

"Unless?" Her friend prompted, and was startled by the indignant rage in her friends eyes when she raised her head.

"It means some _Cabrón_ piggybacked on my line!" Jahi spat, and she quickly explained that her line into the companies system was like a series of railways, and someone had managed to hopped onto the one she 'made' but in doing so it had created 'sparks' which alerted the system that there was an 'illegal railway', hence the alarms blaring.

"So instead of someone doing what you did," Nightshade spoke as they continued run down the floors. "Someone tried to follow the hole you punched through, only they somehow manage to fuck that up?"

Jahi laughed at her friends rather apt description as they turned a corner, only to be met with a small army of security personnel. Tall, absolutely steroid-fueled security personnel.

"Oh dear."

"Oh, _mierda_."

Cornered.

They were cornered, military grade AR-15's trained only on them.

"Any ideas?" Nightshade whispered, slowly backing away, but she knew that this hallway was the only one leading to the stairwell (they had both long-since agreed that elevators could not be trusted) and behind them was the window.

Jahi looked behind them, a long moment passed before she looked back to the crowd of slowly approaching armed men.

"Maybe." And whipped out her phone, her fingers flying over the screen and buttons. "Stall them?"

"Aye, aye _Capitán_!" She stepped forward, settling into a defensive stance.

Unfortunately, Nightshade couldn't use her pellets, Jahi had told her that their ventilation system would either close of or reverse the air flow once the system sensed air-born chemicals, (Which is why Ramiron had spewed smoke instead of her using a pellet.) thus trapping those vapors inside and enclosed space.

No matter how spacious the hallway was, even a single pellet would put them all out. She might not to be too bad off, being resistant if not outright immune, and Ramiron is resilient to most of her concoctions, but Jahi... no, it wasn't an option. She couldn't fight off security, carry her and run all at once.

Even with Ramiron's help... nope, not happening.

Focusing a glare on the man who took a step forward, and dear god was it weird that these men weren't speaking, the tension in the air was about to reach it boiling point-

"Nightshade, drop!" shouted Jahi.

Nightshade hit the ground, a moment later there was a deafening 'crash' and the jarring sound of metal on metal on concrete grinding and colliding. Glass and small chunks of concrete rained down on her.

Ramiron made an unhappy noise, and a look showed that he was unharmed, but his reptilian face showed an impressive mix of indignation and unimpressed annoyance.

Looking up, ahead of her, Nightshade saw the back-end of what used to be a priceless Ferrari, the wheels still spinning. The front end could no longer be recognized, just a smoking mass of shredded, twisted metal and large pieces of concrete.

Nightshade shifted slightly to look over her shoulder to nail her insane friend an incredulous, disbelieving stare.

"Really? That's your idea? Throw a _**car**_ at them?" Her voice was slightly higher pitched and equally as incredulous as her stare, she still wasn't sure she could believe that her friend had somehow hacked a car and launched it through a garage entrance.

"Oh come off it, it worked, didn't it?" Jahi snickered, pushing up onto her feet, stumbling slightly but righted herself. She started to pat herself down and dust off the debris, looking from the gaping hole that used to be the window, back to her handy work.

"Worked?" Nightshade, breaking-and-entering extraordinaire, glared at the shorter woman. _**"You just killed a dozen men!"**_ She turned to gesture to the wreck, only to see that the smoke obscuring the bodies had also obscured something else.

Those weren't bodies. Not human bodies, at least.

"What...?" Slowly standing, the young redhead slowly approached the wreck, carefully bent down and picked up the head of one of the guards.

 _A mechanical head._

The skin, or some substitute, was in tatters, metal casing instead of a skull, sparking wires and god knows what else, one of the eyes were revealed to be some kind of solid translucent material with a white light where the iris is meant to be. It was whirring, spinning like a bunch of layered wheels.

"Um, Jahi. This is definitely your division," said Nightshade, passing the mangled robotic head off to her friend, who had approached while she had been staring at the head.

"Wha- oh _**wow!**_ _Una cabeza de metal!_ " The hacker snatched up the piece of technology and started turning it this way and that. Nightshade wandered to the window, peered down, examining a large multi-storied car-park adjacent to them from across the road.

"Launched a car, huh?" Nightshade shook her head as Ramiron climbed onto her shoulder, and gave a small huff of laughter. "Crazy Spaniard." Turning away, she walked back down the semi-destroyed hall and grabbed the collar of her friends shirt without stopping.

"Hey— wait a minute! I wanna see what else—"

"Nope! We don't have time. We wasted enough as it is!" Nightshade paused to look over her shoulder at the smoking wreck. "But I think I know how we can buy some of it back. Help me."

She dragged her friend to the car and, with some prying and rummaging, they managed to find the car battery. Using some engine parts, the wiring from the robots, and a few of her incendiary pellets, they managed to rig up some macabre mess of a timer bomb.

"Okay, once this is set we'll have either ten minutes or ten seconds to get out of the blast zone... which could be either a small concussive force or a massive fiery inferno that **will** engulf at least six floors. This could possibly ignite any gas lines within the building and destabilize various structures with a one-block radius. Which doesn't sound so bad, except..." The pair looked outside the window, what little skyline they could see was bracketed by tall buildings and skyscrapers.

"Except that it might cause a domino effect of mega-structures causing unfathomable damage and untold loss of life. Insta-death guaranteed for a lot of people. Brilliant," She sighed, taking the potential box-of-death and walking quickly down the hall. "Let's hope it's the former kind of explosive, yeah?"

"Yeah. _Vamos a morir en un ardiente estallido de muerte_ ," Jahi muttered, following her tall friend.

"Ah, but what a way to go!"

They continued at a fast pace, up until they heard the sound of heavy footsteps reached them. A glance at Ramiron showed the little dragon thoroughly cowed, which meant the numbers were beyond them.

"Jahi, two things."

" _Sí_?" The shorter girl asked, focusing on her friend and not on the many footsteps moving at high speed towards them.

"Has the building been evacuated of all living people besides us? And what is the status of the elevator?" She understood the odd look she got from her friend, but if her crazy plan was going to work, they needed a direct pathway to the ground floor.

The hacker flipped out her phone and got to work, blindly following her friend who started moving again. It wasn't easy, but she managed to get far enough into the system to see that all people were removed from the building, minus two humans and a dragon of course. And the elevator...

"All living things, minus us, are clear of the building. Elevator is broken, the car somehow screwed with the brakes and they've all crashed to the ground. No casualties." Jahi quickly added with a sigh of relief.

"Even better," Nightshade stated, and when Jahi looked up she found that her friend was standing in front of one of the elevator doors bereft of their makeshift boom-box.

"What?" The hacker blinked, and Ramiron gave her a grin while Nightshade pulled out a knife and began to work the doors open.

"I planted the bomb down the hall there, against the support pillar." A glance in that direction showed her words to be true, "It's not live though, I need to make sure of something first..." She pried the doors open, looking up and then down.

"The elevator is clear, we need to move now." Nightshade spoke steadily, pulling out her spools of wire and rope and fashioning a makeshift anchor knot and connected it to the extension of rope made by the weave of wire. Tying it off to one of the overhanging beams, the young redhead checked it once, deemed it safe as it could be considering the time-limit. The footsteps of the robots were almost upon them, they would run around those corners any second now.

Grabbing her friends' shoulders, she moved her so she was standing in front of the elevator.

"Wait here. Don't move." And with those instructions, bolted for the bomb.

The moment she pressed the button, those security-robots swarmed.

'What a dramatic sense of timing' She grinned at the thought, and sprinted for her friend while pulling her sleeves down over her hands. Thank god she had long legs. Jahi, however, seemed to have realized what was happening, and what she was going to do.

"Oh, no. No! No, no, No!No!No!No! _ **No!No!No!No!No**_ -" Nightshade spear-tackled the hacker, grabbing onto the rope with one cloth-covered hand while the other held on tight to Jahi, Ramiron squealing in glee as they fell at a just-barely-controlled-speed down the elevator shoot.

The bomb went off, an ear-rattling blast echoing throughout the air.

There was no raging inferno chasing them down the chasm, but there was an onslaught of debris and what remained of the robot guards, and the two could feel the force of the blast even whilst falling. They swung wildly, but Nightshade managed to kick/run off the walls to avoid getting slammed into them, and she kept her ability to retain her grip on the rope.

When they landed on the mangled remains of the elevator box, Nightshade just collapsed, her hand was bleeding from the rope, the sleeve of her shirt having only protected her up to the metal weaving of the makeshift rope.

"I'll be damned, we're not dead."

"No..." Jahi breathed beside her. "No we're not. You _vieja loca_."

"Hey, no name calling till we're safe and _possibly_ drunk." The redhead groaned, pushing herself up. Her dark dragon cooed worriedly, sniffing at her hand. Nightshade smiled and scratched between his wings with her good hand, earning a vibrating purr.

"Don't worry buddy," she groaned. "We'll get this fixed up and then we can take a nice, long, hot bath." Both Jahi and Ramiron perked up at that prospect.

Climbing out of the mess (with Jahi also setting fire to the rope) with her lighter to destroy evidence, they climbed out into what used to be a basement.

Finding the exit to the basement was easy, getting out of the underground garage whilst avoiding the masses and the authorities... less so.

Still, hot-wiring a patrol car and driving off without anyone catching them seem rather trivial compared to what they just went through.

Jahi slumped in the passenger's seat of the car, turning to the exhausted Nightshade.

"That went _terriblemente_." the hacker mumbled, lazily searching for a first aid kit.

"And yet surprisingly well at the same time." replied Nightshade.

They parked a decent distance away, in a random alley, and after dressing Nightshade's wounds, continued on foot. The pair stopped at a clothing boutique, paid in cash, quickly heading to the nearest seven-eleven to grab the largest water bottles, coffee's and assorted treats they could get their hands on.

They set armfuls of food on the counter-top, earning a bewildered look from the cashier behind the counter itself.

As Jahi paid for the food, Nightshade leaned against the store's door, hands still shaking from recent events. She watched curiously as blonde-haired college student stood behind Jahi, carrying potato chips and red bull in one hand and a pack of diapers in the other.

Nightshade wondered what the diapers were meant for. The guy looked a bit young to have a child of his own. Then again, most people at Nightshade's age were having kids way before they graduated high school.

Even Jahi couldn't help but to say something to the poor man as she headed toward the door.

"You have a baby already, _cabeza rubia?_ " she asked, grinning. "How old?"

"Two," the student answered, adjusting his glasses. "It was her birthday yesterday."

"Only sixteen more years to go, right?" Jahi chuckled, smiling as the man stifled a snicker. "Good luck, man. I hope your kid turns out better than I did."

Nightshade followed Jahi out of the store, a question slipping from the redhead's lips.

"So," she paused. "Who was that?"

"A guy I knew from a while back, from when I used to work with these guys who called themselves Stormwatch. Old radical group from my Seattle days. His name is Apollo, I think," said Jahi. "Or at least that's what Lucas and I usually used to call him."

/ /

They went back to the dorms, careful to avoid the attention of alerted security; settling on the roof, both collapsed with tired sighs and pained groans, bodies racked with high discomfort.

"Well, it's not alcohol." Nightshade chuckled, looking at the cup in her hands. Extra-Jumbo?

 _Americans really know how to compensate_ , she thought.

"At this point, I don't even care if it's absolut or captain morgan," was the young hacker's reply, downing another mixed shot of coffee and energy drinks.

The redhead cringed, the herbalist in her screaming 'that is **_not_** healthy', but at the same time she was tempted to do the same.

They sat in relative silence for several minutes; the only sounds were that of eating and drinking, and a few grunts and sighs.

"That didn't go as planned." Jahi said finally.

"What part? The info or the getaway?"

"Nah, _amigo_. The info was different, but the getaway was kind of our usual, si?"

Nightshade tilted her head to give her friend a grin, breathing out a tried laugh as she scratched a sleeping Ramiron between the wings.

"Nah, yeah, mate. You got a point."

"You mean things are normally this destructive when you two are involved?"

Another voice joining in the conversation? _That meant trouble._

The pair immediately jumped to their feet, Jahi moving behind Nightshade while the taller woman brandished her knives. Ramiron was awake and snarling at her feet, more than ready to chew the intruder's feet off.

" _Mierda_..." Jahi breathed, dread settling in her bones as she stood there, watching her friend face off against Batman and Superman. Still, she had to give her friend points for bravery, she was familiar enough with Nightshade that she could tell when the girl prepared for a fight she didn't expect to win. Which happened a lot, now that she thought about it.

"Normally we don't encounter superheroes." muttered Nightshade.

"Despite our best efforts," Batman spoke, glaring. "We've been trying to contact you two for months now, and it's been surprisingly difficult."

"Oh? And what was you're lucky break _chico murciélago?_ " Jahi found her courage to speak, because, dammit, if she was going to jail (again) she wouldn't go cowering and frightened like some schoolgirl.

She had the distinct impression that Superman was trying not to laugh while his companion glared at her.

"We were in the area when I heard the alarms go off. Personally, I didn't expect it to be you two, though," explained Superman. "We followed you when you left, in a stolen police cruiser, may I add."

"I would say you may not, but you already have." The young redhead narrowed her eyes at the pair, silently grateful for the scarf she wore for a makeshift mask (even if it was basically useless against a man with X-ray vision), before something in her mind clicked. "You're not going to try and arrest us?"

" _Try?_ " Superman raised an eyebrow.

"Answer my friend's question, fly boy," Jahi spoke up again, glaring at the two. Idly, she wondered if she could launch something up here, but a quick glance showed that there was nothing technological nearby.

 _Well, I could bring down a plane, but that's a little too far_ , she thought. She almost giggled at the thought. If she were to be honest, the adrenaline was wearing off and the caffeine was kicking in _. Dios maldito_ she needed a nap, and real food, and a bath... and she wanted to study the robot head in her backpack.

"No, we're not." Superman reassured. "We came here with a proposition for the two of you."

"What? You want us to join the Justice League?" Jahi scoffed, but in the following silence and Nightshade's suddenly tense shoulders, the hacker realized that was exactly what they wanted. " _Qué!?_ "

"No. Not the Justice League. Both of you are too young and too immature to join the League," Batman said bluntly. "The _immature_ part being a complete understatement."

And that statement only caused the two to stiffen a little further.

"How do you know my age?" Nightshade ground out, grip on her blades tightening fractionally.

"We know who you are—"

Suddenly, Nightshade was there, her blade clashing against Batman's gauntlets, forcing a stalemate. Clearly, that hadn't been the right thing to say, or the best way to say it.

"If you even think of threatening my family..." she didn't bother to think that maybe he hadn't known and was just getting her to give information freely, she could tell he knew.

Nightshade expected the caped crusader to reply, of course, but she never expected to be thrown off her feet and end up on the ground. She felt Batman's hands swipe the blade away, allowing it to fall at Nightshade's side, as if it were his version of a 'taunt' of sorts.

Of course, when it came to information, not only were they Batman and Superman, they had the highest tech and hundreds of people at their disposal to investigate anything they deemed important enough. Granted, she never thought either of them could be important enough to warrant the focus of the Justice _fucking_ League.

"We're not threatening, we wouldn't do that!" Superman stated, eyes glancing to the batarang hidden behind Batman's back. "Trust me, we're not here to hurt anybody."

"We've met plenty of people who would 'never do that' up until they did, in fact, do that." Jahi said, walking up to the large man. "I've been back-stabbed enough times to know a lie."

"And we are not in the business of gambling with the lives of those we care about," Nightshade paused. "So start talking before my friend goes on a caffeine and adrenaline induced _alboroto_."

Superman glanced back at Batman, a frown clear on the man's face and his shaking head apparent. The Kryptonian, sighing, reluctantly agreed, taking a seat on the cooling roof to talk.

And talk he did.

* * *

 _Translation(s):_

 **¿Cuánto costó obtener reservas?** ; "Did you get/obtain reservations?"

 **¿el cambio de guardia?** ; "changing of the guard?"

 **Por el amor de Dios** ; "For the love of God."

 **pobres hijos de puta** ; "Poor sons of bitches."

 **mi amigo** ; "My friend."

 **fondos** ; "Money."

 **causar estragos** ; "Wreak havoc."

 **Luego llevamos nuestros traseros a casa** ; "Then we carry our asses home."

 **ido de encubierto** ; "gone undercover."

 **¿Recuerdas cómo fue eso?** ; "Do you remember how that was?"

 **Estuviste enfermo por una semana y no pude poner peso en mi tobillo por un mes** ; "You were sick for a week and I couldn't put weight on my ankle for a month."

 **No es mi culpa** ; "It's not my fault."

 **Demasiado arrogante** ; "To arrogant."

 **Tienes todo eso?** ; "Do you have it?"

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _ **Yikes**_

 _So, we finally managed to get a glimpse of the villain team of the story. I'm excited to get back to working on ITTT, to be honest. I've always had ideas swimming around in my head for the story, but I never quite managed to get back to working on it. Updates might/might not be frequent, but I can try to keep up with a schedule._

 _In the meantime, I'm off to study- school is muy importante this year and I refuse to graduate with any B's._

 _And thanks to Outcast001 for writing out this little "intermission". You guys should definitely check out some of her material, too._

-Kai


End file.
